Member Briefing April 10, 2025
Trump Ups China Tariffs To 125%, Pauses Others At 10% For 90 Days
President Donald Trump on Wednesday dropped tariffs under his new trade plan to 10% on imports from most countries, as he announced a 90-day pause for stiffer, so-called reciprocal tariffs that took effect this week. Trump also said in a social media post that he was raising the tariffs imposed on imports from China to 125% “effective immediately” due to the “lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets.”
Trump’s Truth Social post credited his decision to pause the full effect of tariffs on the fact that “more than 75 Countries” have contacted U.S. officials “to negotiate a solution” to trade concerns that he raised in imposing the new duties. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a tweet, said that he and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat with Trump while he wrote out the announcement on Truth Social. “The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction,” Lutnick wrote.
Treasury Secretary Helped Sway President To Negotiate With Trading Partners In Face Of Pressure From Business Leaders
It took a week for the plunge in the stock and bond markets—along with a sustained campaign by executives, lawmakers, lobbyists and foreign leaders—to prompt Trump to roll back for 90 days a major element of his sweeping tariff plan. The president said that the reaction to the tariffs was getting a bit “yippy”—like a nervous athlete unable to perform—and he relied on his instincts to change course as he watched the bond market tank and listened to business leaders including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon express fears of a recession. The episode was classic Trump: He took a drastic action, closely tracked the reaction, kept advisers and allies guessing and then changed course.
In this case, the extraordinary reversal was announced via Trump’s social-media platform just hours after so-called reciprocal tariffs officially went into effect. He tapped out the post in the Oval Office as he sat with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump also significantly raised tariffs on China. Shortly after Trump published his post, as markets rose, Bessent stood outside the entrance to the West Wing and explained that the move to pause some of the tariffs was discussed Sunday when the two men met. “He and I had a long talk,” Bessent said before a crowd of reporters. “This was his strategy all along.” Bessent was flooded with worried calls from Wall Street over the weekend and felt strongly he had to persuade Trump that a pause was needed. It wouldn’t be a capitulation, Bessent argued, because they were going to have so many deals.
US Mortgage Rates Drop To Lowest Since October, Spurring Demand
US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since October, spurred by a rally in government bonds in the wake of an escalating trade war and driving home purchase applications to a more than one-year high. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage decreased 9 basis points to 6.61% in the week ended April 4, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. The rates on 30-year jumbo and 15-year fixed mortgages also declined.
Cheaper borrowing costs also sparked a 35% surge in an index of refinancings, which reached the highest level since October. The gauge of mortgage applications for home purchases advanced more than 9%, marking the sixth straight weekly advance.
Global Headlines
Middle East
- Can Trump Convince Iran To Ditch Its Nuclear Programme? – BBC
- Iran Ready to 'Seal a Deal' With US - Newsweek
- Mike Huckabee Confirmed As Trump’s Ambassador To Israel – The Hill
- Islamic State Regains Strength in Syria - NYT
- Suspected US Strikes In Yemen Kill At Least 10 People, Houthi Rebels Say - AP
- Israeli Strike On Gaza Residential Building Kills 29, Medics Say - BBC
- Israeli Supreme Court Sets Deadline For Solution On Shin Bet Chief Dismissal – France 24
- Interactive Map- Israel’s Operation In Gaza – Institute For The Study Of War
- Map – Tracking Hamas’ Attack On Israel – Live Universal Awareness Map
Ukraine
- Drone Swarms Target 11 Russian Regions - Newsweek
- EU To Reinstate Quotas On Ukraine As Emergency Trade Deal Lapses - Politico
- China Rejects Claim Its Citizens Are Fighting Alongside Russia In Ukraine – France 24
- Ukraine Says More Than 150 Chinese Mercenaries Are Fighting For Russia In Ukraine - AP
- The Battlefield Lessons North Korea Has Learned Fighting Ukraine - WSJ
- Trump Admin Responds to Ukraine's Capture of Chinese Troops - Newsweek
- Ukraine Will Send A Team To The US Next Week For Talks On A New Draft Mineral Deal - AP
- Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
- Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map
Other Headlines
- Germany’s Merz Seals Coalition Deal Under Pressure To Face Challenges Posed By Trump – Politico
- Al Qaeda Punctures Kenya’s Dreams for an Indian Ocean Trade Hub - WSJ
- Hegseth: US, Panama Will ‘Take Back’ Canal From Chinese Influence – The Hill
- China To Strengthen Strategic Ties With Neighbours, Xi Jinping Says - SCMP
- China Issues Two Warnings About US Travel To Its Citizens - SCMP
- France’s Fifth Republic Is On The Ropes - Politico
- The IMF Reaches A Deal With Troubled Argentina On A $20 Billion Bailout - AP
- Nightclub Roof Collapse Kills More Than 124 People In Dominican Republic, Including Former MLB Players – CNN
Policy and Politics
Johnson Scraps Vote On Trump Budget Blueprint In Face Of Conservative Opposition
House Republican leaders on Wednesday scrapped plans to vote on the Senate’s framework to advance key parts of President Trump’s legislative agenda, a major setback that came in the face of opposition from hard-line conservatives. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the chamber would “probably” vote on the measure Thursday. The delay marks a blow to both Johnson, who pushed for a speedy adoption of the measure, and President Trump, who endorsed the legislation and lobbied those in the right flank to get on board. The chamber was initially scheduled to vote on the measure at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
But a number of lawmakers in the party’s right flank remained entrenched in opposition to the measure, unwilling to waver from that resistance despite intense pressure from Trump himself. To break the impasse, the Speaker floated creating a conference committee with the Senate to hash out their differences, or adding an amendment to the budget resolution — two ideas that would throw a wrench into GOP leadership’s ambitious timeline to get a package to Trump’s desk. He also said the chamber may add language to a procedural rule that says the House will not put a package on the floor that does not have a requisite amount of spending cuts.
State Senate leader: Budget Negotiations On ‘Pause’
According to state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, state budget negotiations have hit a “pause” as policy debates gum up progress, even if they are at the “beginning of the end.” Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated that her key priorities in the budget don’t have much room for daylight. Between discovery reform, involuntary commitment, a cellphone ban in schools and a mask ban, Hochul is willing to wait as long as it takes for a deal that meets her wishes, even as New York needs to answer pressing fiscal questions like funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital plan. She told reporters last week that “summers are nice here too,” referring to a prolonged negotiation in the statehouse.
But Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie are essentially in a holding pattern until Hochul presents language they can bring to their members – leaving the state budget, now eight days late, at a standstill. Meanwhile Heastie the Assembly has introduced legislation that would continue the pay of state legislators while negitioations are ongoing. Currently legislators are not paid until a budget is in place.
Timmons: Extend Tax Cuts - When Manufacturing Wins, America Wins
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons appeared on "Mornings with Maria" on Fox Business Tuesday morning to discuss the importance of extending the 2017 tax cuts and investing in US manufacturing. Timmons said it was "critical" that Congress extend the tax cuts, noting "if we don't get these things done, businesses in America are not going to invest." Tax cuts and regulatory certainty would provide a boost for manufacturers, Timmons said, adding "when manufacturing wins, America wins."
Timmons referred to a NAM study which found that more than 1.1 million manufacturing jobs and $126 billion in manufacturing worker wages are on the line if Congress does not preserve critical pro-manufacturing policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Trump’s First 100 Days
- Appeals Court Clears The Way For The Trump Administration To Fire Thousands Of Probationary Workers – AP
- Supreme Court Permits Trump To Fire 2 Independent Agency Leaders, For Now – The Hill
- Trump Approval Rating Tracker: Two Post-Tariff Surveys Show Decline - Forbes
- Judges Temporarily Block 5 Venezuelans’ Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act - The Hill
- N.Y. House Democrats Demand Meeting With Sec. Kennedy Over Health Funding Cuts – NY State Of Politics
- Trump Administration Revises Port-Fee Plan to Soften Blow to U.S. Exports - WSJ
- Largest U.S. Egg Supplier Says It’s Working With DOJ On Egg Price Hike Investigation - Forbes
- Trump Administration Freezes More Than $1 Billion In Federal Funding To Cornell University – NY State Of Politics
- Trump Signs Executive Orders Aimed At Resurrecting Coal Industry - Forbes
- Ex-EEOC Member Sues Trump Over 'Illegal' Firing – Law360
- Acting IRS Chief to Depart, Extending Turmoil at Agency - WSJ
- Pentagon Releases New Guidance For DOD’s Civilian Workforce Shakeup – Defense Scoop
- Jared Isaacman, Trump’s Pick to Lead NASA, Calls Mars a Priority in Confirmation Hearing – NYT
- Trump Tracker: Keep Tabs On The Latest Announcements And Executive Orders - WSJ
Health and Wellness
Changing How We Talk About Mental Health In The Workplace
With 70% of U.S. adults having experienced some form of trauma at least once in their lives, the conversation around mental health is shifting. Rather than focusing solely on overcoming or "fixing" trauma, a new perspective—post-traumatic growth (PTG)—emphasizes learning to live alongside it. At work, mental health isn’t something we talk about often, and when we do, conversations largely focus on avoidance rather than understanding. Instead of focusing on trying to fix our trauma, let’s accept and grow from it, learning to live alongside it.
Trauma may begin as a single occurrence, but it's what happens afterward that becomes the focus of conversation over the long term. It's about how we integrate the experience into our lives—not letting trauma confine us, but recognizing how it might transform us. Through post-traumatic growth, we can discover new strengths, perspectives and meanings that become part of our evolving identity as we move forward. This new lexicon and understanding also makes business sense.
Industry News
Trade War Updates
- European Union Approves 20 Billion Euro Set Of Retaliatory Tariffs On U.S. Imports - CNBC
- EU Targets Trump’s Red States With Tariffs On US Trucks, Cigarettes And Ice Cream - Politico
- China Has Readied a Trade-War Arsenal That Takes Aim at U.S. Companies - WSJ
- China Hits Back By Raising Tariff On US Goods To 84% – Yahoo Finance
- Trump Says ‘Be Cool’ As Trade War Escalates – The Hill
- Jamie Dimon Says A Recession Is ‘Likely Outcome’ From Trump’s Tariff Turmoil - CNBC
- How Trump’s Tariffs Hit Nations Differently - WSJ
- Trump's Deadline For Sweeping Tariffs Passes, Including 104% On China – Nikkei Asia
- What Rankles Elon Musk The Most — And What He Actually Likes — About Trump's Trade Approach – Yahoo Finance
- LNG Deals With Japan, South Korea Could Reduce Tariffs, U.S. Officials Hint – Nikkei Asia
- Canada’s 25% Auto Tariffs Are In Effect. Here’s How They Differ From The U.S. – CNBC
Wells Fargo Invites Council Members to Their Webinar: ‘Economic Implications of President Trump's Tariffs’
Associate Member Wells Fargo has invited their fellow Council of Industry members to join today’s webinar. President Trump recently announced extraordinary levies on most of America’s trading partners that take the effective tariff rate in the United States to its highest level in more than a century. Join economists Jay Bryson, Sarah House, and Brendan McKenna on Thursday, April 10, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm Eastern Time as they discuss the implications of the tariff hikes for the economic outlook in the United States and major foreign economies.
Speakers will include Jay Bryson - Managing Director and Chief Economist, Sarah House - Managing Director and Chief Economist – Brendan McKenna, Director, International Economist
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025
Time: 12:00 pm Eastern Time
IBM Releases z17, A New Mainframe Built For The Age Of AI
IBM is releasing the latest version of its mainframe hardware that includes new updates meant to accelerate AI adoption. The hardware and consulting company on Monday announced IBM z17, the latest version of its mainframe computer hardware. This fully encrypted mainframe is powered by an IBM Telum II processor and is designed for more than 250 AI use cases, the company says, including AI agents and generative AI. IBM’s Z system mainframes are made in Poughkeepsie.
Mainframes might seem like old hat, but they’re used by 71% of Fortune 500 companies today, according to one source. In 2024, the mainframe market was worth an estimated $5.3 billion, per consulting firm Market Research Future. The z17 can process 450 billion inference operations in a day, a 50% increase over its predecessor, the IBM z16, which was released in 2022 and ran on the company’s original Tellum processor. The system is designed to be able to fully integrate with other hardware, software, and open source tools.
Foxconn Eyes Japan For Electric Vehicle Growth, Seeks Partnerships
Taiwan's Foxconn sees Japan as a big opportunity for growing its electric vehicle business and hopes to agree on partnerships with Japanese companies as soon as possible, an executive in charge of the business said on Wednesday. Foxconn's interest in working with Japanese automakers comes as they face a threat from Chinese brands that have turned to battery-powered vehicles to aggressively win share in markets such as Europe, Brazil and Thailand.
The contract manufacturer is set to introduce an electric bus and a battery-powered microbus in Japan in 2027, it said. It focuses on providing business-to-business services with its EV operations instead of targeting consumers directly. Foxconn wants to cooperate with Nissan but is currently not engaging with the struggling Japanese automaker, Seki told the Nikkei newspaper in an interview published earlier on Wednesday. Foxconn was working with Mitsubishi, Seki said during Wednesday's event, without providing further details. Sources had previously told Reuters that Mitsubishi plans to outsource the production of EVs for Oceania markets to Foxconn.
U.S. Crude Oil Falls 3%, Trades Below $58 Per Barrel As China Imposes Retaliatory Tariffs, OPEC+ Pumps
U.S. crude oil futures fell about 3% on Wednesday, as China announced retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. after President Donald Trump’s sweeping levies took effect. The U.S. benchmark dropped $1.83, or 3.07%, to $57.75 per barrel by 9:41 a.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent tumbled $1.93, or 3.07%, to $60.89. The oil sell-off took a leg lower earlier in the session after Beijing announced tariffs of 84% on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s levies. U.S. crude fell more than 7% to an intraday low of $55.12, while Brent tumbled to $58.40 at its lowest point during the session.
Traders are worried the world is descending into a full-blown trade war that will trigger a recession, hitting crude oil demand. OPEC+, meanwhile, has agreed to accelerate output in May, which will bring more oil to a market that was already facing a surplus. The collision of recession fears and growing oil supply is a “toxic cocktail,” Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC on Tuesday.
Haas Cuts California Manufacturing As Tariffs Weigh Down Customers
With the vast majority of global machine tools coming out of Europe and Asia, California-based Haas Automation might sound like it’s in a perfect position to benefit from tariffs placed on imports that President Donald Trump says will kickstart American manufacturing. However, any longer-term reshoring is way off in the distance. Instead, Haas is facing an immediate pullback in production from its manufacturing customers as they weigh increases in raw materials and components prices.
“In recent days, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in demand for our machine tools from both domestic and foreign customers,” Haas automations official said. “Out of caution, we have reduced production and eliminated overtime at our sole manufacturing plant in Oxnard, California, where we employ 1,70. We have also halted hiring and put new employment requisitions on hold.” Because reshoring will require new equipment, Haas officials said they’re worried that the administration could slash tariffs on machines from Taiwan (companies such as YCM and Hartford), Japan (Okuma, Makino) and Korea (DN Solutions, Hwacheon) to avoid making manufacturing investments in the U.S. more expensive. Worse, Haas imports some of the materials and components it uses in its machine tools, so tariff breaks for Asian machine tool makers could give them a major cost advantage over American-produced machines.
Tariffs, Uncertain Economy Weigh on Freight Market
Truckload pricing stayed at depressed levels after a small uptick in Q1, according to the second quarter (Q2) 2025 release of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index. Furthermore, LTL pricing was working to keep rates flat and parcel carriers unleashing additional pricing changes to squeeze more revenue from limited volumes. The latest release highlights the effects of an uncertain economic outlook and rapidly evolving trade policies weighing against a freight market recovery.
In Q1 2025, the truckload rate per mile index came in somewhat higher than expected, at 5.9% above the January 2018 baseline. This uptick can be attributed to shippers pulling inventory forward to get ahead of the latest tariffs, along with the impact of wildfires, natural disasters and continued capacity correction. But a sustained shift toward shorter-haul shipments, defined as those of 500 miles or less, drove the total cost per shipment down to 5% above pre-pandemic levels — the lowest point in over three years, and indicative of a broader trend of more regional distribution and decentralized inventory positioning. In Q2, the rate per mile index is projected to show a slight quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) decline to 5.5% — the ninth straight quarter with rates between 4.3% and 5.9% above the 2018 baseline.
Read more at Material Handling & Logistics
Pratt & Whitney Advancing Additive Manufacturing
Pratt & Whitney reports it has developed an additive manufacturing method for repair of critical components of its geared turbofan (GTF) engines, and contends that the new method will cut repair process times by over 60 percent. It added that it aims to industrialize the repair technique, and apply it throughout the network of more than 20 service centers and shops worldwide offering MRO for those engines.
The new method was broadly described as “directed energy deposition,” the additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) technique that uses lasers or other focused heat sources to melt and deposit metal powder or wire onto a part to be repaired, or onto a build tray to form a new part. The AM technique was developed at Pratt & Whitney's North American Technology Accelerator in Jupiter, Fla., in a collaborative effort with the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology and the RTX Research Center. The GTF engine is Pratt & Whitney’s geared-turbofan engine, more than 2,200 of which have been delivered for installation on commercial aircraft for over 80 operators worldwide. Pratt & Whitney also holds orders for nearly 11,000 future GTF engines from over 90 customers.
Read more at American Machinist
CI to Host Online Tariff Impact Discussion for Manufacturing Member Execs
With the recent announcement of sweeping tariffs by the Trump Administration — including a 10% tariff on nearly all imported goods and targeted increases for key trading partners — uncertainty is again rippling through the manufacturing sector. Recognizing that one of the greatest values the Council of Industry brings to its members is the collective experience and wisdom of its members, we will host an Executive Roundtable on Friday, April 11th, 8:00 – 9:30 AM, for manufacturing member executives to share perspectives on:
- How developments are affecting your business today
- What you are forecasting for the months ahead
- What strategies you are considering in response
We’ll also provide a brief update on what we’re hearing at the national and regional levels, however, this session is primarily to hear from our members.
Please note this discussion is open to manufacturing employers only.
For more information or to register please email info@councilofindustry.org